


friends are not replacements (and there are a variety of relationships)

by WattStalf



Series: Femslash February 2017 [1]
Category: Baccano!
Genre: F/F, Femslash February, Fluff, Hints of Polyamory I guess, general warnings for lua's deathwish and ladds behavior
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-01
Updated: 2017-02-01
Packaged: 2018-09-14 18:54:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9198509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WattStalf/pseuds/WattStalf
Summary: I'm not entirely sure about her.





	

**Author's Note:**

> First day of Femslash February, kicking it off with this self-indulgent ship.

Miria is a strange person.

Lua has met a lot of people in her life, and all of them- with the exception of Ladd, and even he took a bit of work to understand- come across to her as foreign, in a way, but there is something even more off to her about Miria. There is something off in the way she flits around everyone she meets with this innocent determination to make sure that they're happy, something off about the way that she doesn't lose interest in Lua almost immediately after meeting her.

Because, of course, Lua knows very well that there isn't much of anything interesting about her, and she knows that her silence is enough to give people the impression that she isn't interested- and, of course, she never is. But, for whatever reason, either Miria never gets that impression, or she does and she doesn't care because, after some point, Lua just isn't able to shake her.

She supposes that Miria must be her first friend.

~X~

Ladd is enthusiastic about the idea while somehow managing to be jealous as well, but he's full of those sorts of contradictions, the most prominent of those being their relationship as a whole.

“'Course you gotta have friends,” he says. “I mean, what, that's natural, right? I never mind sharing mine with you, but wow! Making one by yourself? I think that's a great thing, just...” And then, his face darkens just a little bit, and that is how she knows he's jealous. “Just don't even think about letting this _friend_ of yours replace me. I don't care how close you get, just remember that there's something only I get to do!”

“I wouldn't forget,” she replies softly, and all the tension melts from his face and he grins.

“And don't I know it! Ah, I've got nothing to worry about with you, nothing at all,” he says, shaking his head. “You're just a little angel, you know that? You wouldn't forget that nobody and nothing else in the world gets the honor of killing you.”

He rests his forehead against hers and she gives him half of a smile, and he sighs in contentment. “Otherwise, have as much fun as you want while you're still living. Keep yourself busy, cos there's no way in hell I'm killing you early.”

“You're nothing but a tease,” she nearly whispers, and he just laughs.

~X~

She doesn't really know how it's supposed to be between friends, though she supposes she should, at least, be more involved than she is. Even so, all she is able to offer Miria are a few of her half-smiles, her nearly inaudible replies, and her ability to listen to whatever someone else is saying, no matter how long-winded they may become. But, then again, Miria doesn't like one sided conversations, and doesn't tend to go on by herself for so long, and doesn't seem to mind that Lua's responses are usually nonverbal, or one word at best, just as long as she gets a response at all.

She is considerate in that way, and she does what she can to find out what it is that Lua likes to do, so that she can enjoy the time they spend together as well. Miria admires her while she watches her solve a puzzle, and she gushes in excitement when she starts to paint, and does her best to swallow her confusion when it's all destroyed at the end, making up an explanation for why all good art must come to an end, or something to that effect.

Lua knows that Miria doesn't actually believe that she wants to die. She knows that her own lover once told her that, even though they said Ladd was going to kill her, that they meant something entirely different, and she knows that the other woman bought it completely, or at least pretended to. The two of them seem very good at making and believing excuses, but that doesn't really affect their friendship, Lua doesn't think.

~X~

At the very least, when the two go on long walks together, which is how they end up spending most of their time together, there doesn't seem to be any more distance between them then there would be between Lua and anyone else. In fact, she wonders if there might be less distance between the two of them, but, having little experience in such matters, it's impossible for her to tell.

In terms of physical distance, there is hardly any. Miria likes to walk close, so close that their hands may brush, but she doesn't seem bothered by what Lua would perceive as an intimacy that doesn't suit friends. There isn't much that seems to bother Miria, and she likes to have the sort of closeness that Lua would only consider sharing with someone like Ladd.

But Miria and Ladd are very different people. They may both be bright, blindingly so in contrast to someone like Lua, and they may both have more energy than they can ever hope to burn off, but they are very different people. Where Ladd is harsh, Miria is gentle; where Ladd is cruel, Miria is kind; where Ladd is unrefined, Miria possesses great beauty (though this may be the first time Lua has really considered the beauty of another woman). The two of them are opposites in so many ways, but a closeness develop between her and Miria all the same.

She doesn't know if this is how friendships are supposed to go or not. Somehow, things seem different, but she only knows other friendships by observation, and she has never taken much of an interest in truly observing those other friendships. It is likely that there is more that goes on that she doesn't see but, for now, she wonders if this is somehow more intense than it should be.

~X~

“I don't think she's gonna replace me,” Ladd says without warning one day, and Lua look to him, a question written on her face. “Ya know, your friend! That Miria broad, right? If you're worried about that, don't be. Things are different with her, so it doesn't matter how close ya get!”

By now, she shouldn't be so surprised that he can tell what she's worried about so easily, even though she never shows any signs of worry on her face. But what he says causes her to think more on the situation, and wonder what it means to feel so close to someone else, and what other sorts of relationships there are out there, besides that which she has with Ladd.

There are friendships that she doesn't understand, and that she's growing to understand, but there are romantic relationships out there as well, ones that revolve around different sorts of bonds. She is never going to want anyone but Ladd to kill her, and Miria would likely never be able to do something like that for her anyway, so what they have is different by nature.

“I'm not entirely sure about her,” is all she says, and Ladd just laughs it off.

“Just as long as you're keeping yourself busy! Since there's no way I can kill you yet, you know?”

~X~

There are different kinds of relationships in the world, and Lua never expected to open herself up to any sort. What she has with Ladd was supposed to be the one exception, but now she finds herself evaluating what she has with Miria more seriously than she is used to. Of course, it is no more obvious by her face that she's thinking about it, but her mind is more occupied than usual.

Except one day, Miria says, “There's nothing to worry about, you know?”

“...excuse me?” she asks, her voice coming out even quieter than she intends.

“As long as you're happy, I'm happy too, so don't worry about a thing!” Miria says this with an innocent smile and their hands brush again. Someday, Lua is going to have to make the other woman understand the truth about her; someday she is going to have to find the words to explain her greatest desire, and hope that it doesn't change anything between them, but for now, she only gives Miria a half of a smile.

There are all sorts of relationships, she's learned, and today, she takes the other woman's offered hand.

 


End file.
